


To Be Big

by bakedgarnet



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, amethyst just wants to be big, post-mission exhaustion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 22:50:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8819227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bakedgarnet/pseuds/bakedgarnet
Summary: Garnet and Amethyst come home from a mission that's left Garnet exhausted. Amethyst just wants to be able to be there for her.





	

Sometimes Amethyst wishes she was big.

 

Like Jasper. 

 

Not in a self-deprecating way, not anymore, but in the way that she wants to be able to give Garnet a break sometimes. 

 

She knows that Garnet never really  _ asked _ to be their leader after Rose…left. Pearl could have easily taken over, Amethyst thinks, if she hadn't been so scarred by the entire thing. 

 

And Amethyst was small. Small, immature and far too young to carry the burden that Garnet now held firmly on her strong shoulders. 

 

So it's times like these, when it's just the two of them coming back from a mission because Pearl’s had one of her episodes and hasn't left her room in the temple for two weeks, that Amethyst wishes she was big. 

 

Like Jasper. 

 

Like the Quartz she  _ should  _ have been. 

 

Because Garnet slumps as they return to the beach house through the warp pad, and her body sparks with excess electricity build-up, and stars does she look  _ exhausted.  _ Garnet drags herself to the living room, and probably means to make it to the soft comfort of the couch, but instead she face plants right to the hardwood floor. The resounding  _ thud _ of the contact makes Amethyst cringe, and then she's right by Garnet’s side, trying in vain to wriggle beneath her body somehow to lift her up off of the floor.

 

This doesn't work. She's too small.

 

Amethyst focuses on who she thinks she should have been, broad shouldered and imposing, and her body morphs into such a spitting image of Jasper that it unnerves her. She shakes off the feeling and squats down to heft Garnet into her arms bridal-style. The lingering electricity in Garnet’s body  _ zings _ through Amethyst until her mass of hair floats about her new, muscular shoulders. The unconscious gem slumps in her arms, all dead weight, but Amethyst can handle it. She maneuvers them both until they're sat on the couch and Garnet is firmly asleep on her lap. 

 

She thinks she can hold this form as long as she has to as soon as she sees the contented smile form on Garnet’s full lips. Her leader buries her face into her much larger shoulder and continues to sleep solidly. 

 

Slowly, her energy buildup dissipates and releases evenly around the room. 

 

Amethyst brings her new fingers, much larger and thicker than her actual ones, to play with the curls sprouting from Garnet’s scalp. The tightly coiled texture of her hair is soothing, and she lightly tugs one curl until it straightens before releasing it. It snaps back into place almost perfectly, and a small smile tugs at Amethyst’s lips.

 

She places an unsure kiss against Garnet’s temple.

 

It is several long, long hours before Garnet finally awakens— disoriented and trying to figure out who the hell was holding her—

 

“Amethyst.” Garnet says upon dawning realization. Her shaded eyes rove the strange sight of her team mate stretched out into this familiar form of their foe, sweating with the effort it takes to maintain it. 

 

“‘Sup.” Amethyst tries to grin around her body's discomfort, but Garnet sees right through her. 

 

“Change back before you hurt yourself.” Garnet orders more than asks, something else she's had to learn to do against her will, following Rose’s departure.

 

Amethyst wriggles a bit until she's no longer beneath Garnet’s solid body, and releases her hold on that form with a relieved sigh. She shakes out her arms and legs for good measure and avoids Garnet’s silent gaze.

 

“Thank you, Amethyst.”

 

“It's no big deal… shapeshifting’s kinda my thing. Changing back’s easier anyway—”

 

“I mean for taking care of me. You really held your own out there. I’m proud of you.”

 

A deep shade of violet tints the younger gem’s cheeks and she avoids eye contact, “Well, y’know… Thanks, G.”

 

And then Garnet stands with a stretch that pops all the way up her back, and her covered eyes turn toward the temple door several moments before it finally opens.

 

Pearl exits, all shrugged shouldered and meek with eyes that never quite leave the floor, and Garnet is by her side in an instant. 

 

Amethyst feels a pang in the center of her gem because Pearl is big— she's strong, too. Maybe not in the way Amethyst likes to pretend she herself is, but in the way that really matters. As Pearl squares her shoulders and looks up into Garnet’s now exposed eyes, she forces a watery smile and Amethyst feels like she's intruding. 

 

She stands up and tries to make her way around them and into her room without being noticed, but Garnet catches her hand before she can get past. The look in all three of her eyes is reminiscent of watching the sun peak over the horizon after a long day of battle.

 

Amethyst feels her throat go dry.

 

“You should have seen Amethyst today.” Garnet beams as she intertwines their hands. 

 

Amethyst can feel the cool caress of Sapphire’s gem against her own clammy palm and she looks up into all three of Garnet’s adoring eyes with a smile breaking across her lips. 

 

“I couldn't have gotten through the mission today without her.”

 

Pearl’s tired smile shifts until it's trained on Amethyst, and her wiry fingers caress the top of her head lovingly.

 

“I’m sorry I— wasn't there.” Pearl says haltingly, likely feeling guilty for her lack of contribution to kicking corrupted gem ass that day. 

 

“Ah, don’t worry about it, P. Me and Garnet had everything under control.” Amethyst continues to grin, and the heavy thudding in her Gem is nowhere to be found.

 

She feels…big.

**Author's Note:**

> An anonymous fic request from tumblr. I really enjoyed writing this one :)
> 
> Keep up with me on tumblr: bakedgarnet.tumblr.com and feel free to leave a comment!


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